Only one vote, but for three countries. Eurovision wants to change rules to make voting less political

The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest propose to radically change the voting rules so that certain countries have fewer opportunities to influence the results, writes the BBC.

Currently, viewers have the right to vote for their favorite performer up to 10 times — and can do so online, by phone, or via text message.

But, as reported, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) sent a letter to broadcasters participating in the contest with a proposal for radical reforms: to vote only online and choose not one, but three favorite performers at once. It will only be possible to cast a vote once.

The EBU stated that politically motivated voting has become "commonplace" and many consider such practices "deeply disturbing". Discussions about voting rules have continued since the Israeli government in 2025 urged fans to cast multiple votes for the participant from that country.

Yuval Rafael's song "New Day Will Rise" took 15th place according to the results of the professional juries' voting but became the undisputed leader among viewers, receiving 297 points. As a result, Rafael took second place in the contest.

After this, several broadcasting companies began asking questions about how Israel managed to achieve such a high place. They noted that official social media accounts associated with the Israeli authorities (including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) called for voting for Rafael 20 times — the maximum allowed number.

As a result, the EBU decided to change the conditions for the 2026 contest: then voting was allowed no more than 10 times.

The European Broadcasting Union was forced to issue an official warning to Israeli broadcaster Kan, because the Eurovision participant called on fans on her social media to "vote for Israel 10 times".

Eurovision stated that such posts contradicted the "spirit of the competition" and ordered them to be removed.

The new rules proposed by the EBU should put an end to the practice of voting for the same country multiple times.

However, fans will still be able to do this if they register different accounts on the contest website — using different payment methods.

"We believe these changes will help reduce the impact of vote mobilization, while maintaining the principles of trust and fairness," states the EBU letter, the content of which was first published by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

The European Broadcasting Union told the BBC: "We can confirm that we have begun exploring the possibility of fully transitioning to online voting in the Eurovision Song Contest and will announce more details in the coming months."

In its letter, the EBU acknowledged that the current voting system affects viewers' perception of the contest.

"Even in the absence of large-scale paid campaigns and under a voting system for which we cannot fully vouch, it has become evident that the current geopolitical climate brings votes to some performers for reasons very little connected to their performances," the document states.

"Similar precedents have occurred in the history of Eurovision, we have seen this repeatedly, but now it is done consistently and causes deep concern for many," the EBU notes in its letter. "Our analysis allows us to propose two changes: a complete shift to online voting and the introduction of a requirement to vote for more than one performer, for example, for three favorites."

The letter was signed by Jean Philip de Tender, Director of the European Broadcasting Union, and Ana María Bordas, Chairperson of the Eurovision Organising Committee.

The organizers propose to move voting entirely online, as it would be technically difficult for fans to vote for several performers at once by phone or via text messages.

Starting from this year's contest, rules are already in place in the UK allowing voting for participants only online.

Belarus has not participated in Eurovision since 2020. That year, the contest was canceled for everyone due to COVID. In 2021, the band "Galasy ZMesta" was removed from the contest due to the political undertones of their chosen song, and the European Broadcasting Union announced the suspension of Belteleradiocompany's membership in the organization due to human rights violations in the country amidst the persecution of the opposition.

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